


do you want to know a secret?

by agentofdisarray



Category: The Beatles (Band)
Genre: Couch Cuddles, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff, George is a good friend, Kissing, M/M, They're both very awkward but they're trying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-15
Updated: 2020-03-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:07:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23162983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agentofdisarray/pseuds/agentofdisarray
Summary: "I suppose I'm...stressed? We barely leave the studio anymore and I guess it's getting to me."There were a few moments of silence. Ringo held his breath, praying that they would believe him. Because no way in hell was he going to confess his undying love for John Lennon.
Relationships: John Lennon/Ringo Starr
Comments: 13
Kudos: 51





	do you want to know a secret?

Ever since Ringo first met John, he was head over heels for the man- even if he wasn't aware that he was.

George was the first to catch on to Ringo's crush on the man. He managed to notice Ringo's lingering gaze and flush whenever he looked at John, even before Ringo himself realised his own feelings for him. 

Paul, on the other hand, had only recently began to piece together what was going on. One Beatle teasing the poor drummer was bad enough as it was, but adding another? Ringo wouldn't be able to handle it. 

Currently, they were all taking a break from recording for their latest album. As George, John and Paul chattered between each other, Ringo was hunched over on his stool, mind distant and far, far away. It wasn't until someone waved a hand in front of his face that he remembered where he was. 

Startled by the sudden interruption, Ringo lost grip of his drumsticks, wincing as he heard them clatter against the floor of the studio rather audibly. He could feel the tips of his ears burn and he smiled apologetically. 

"Jesus, Ringo." George frowned at the older man and crossed his arms over his chest. "That's the, what, third time today?"

Ringo pouted at that. "Me hands are just sweaty. We've all been here too long," he gestured to the walls around them with a bejewelled hand. He wasn't wrong, though. Lately, they all spent ridiculous amounts of time at the studio and usually ended the day with no songs recorded, or, if they were lucky, maybe one. He was just thankful that he didn't have blisters on his fingers from how hard and long he had been gripping his drumsticks- he felt as though he never put them down anymore.  
  


Despite that, however, George shook his head. "Not good enough, mate." There was a teasing smirk on his face as he raised his eyebrows suggestively. Making his way around the drum kit so he was next to his friend, the guitarist bent his knees a little so he matched Ringo's height and threw an arm over his shoulder. 

The other squirmed on his seat and squinted up at his mate with a confused look. "It's about Johnny again, ain't it?" George murmured into Ringo's ear, finding pleasure in how mortified the drummer looked. He had no reason to be, yet he couldn't help but feel extra cautious as John was still in the same room as them. 

"Oh my God," Ringo ran a hand down his face while shaking his head in a disapproving manner. 

"Nope, it's George." 

That made Ringo relax, even if just a bit. The man spluttered and shoved the other away from him, giggling at the cheesy joke nonetheless. 

"You fellas alright?" Paul, as well as John, had put their instruments down in favour of checking out all of the commotion. 

George hummed innocently,"Of course, Paulie." The nickname made said man chuckle. George then clasped his hands together with a grin. "Ready to go and eat, lads?" He gave a rather dramatic sigh,"I'm starving,"

"When aren't you?" John rolled his eyes in good nature and laughed lightly at George's offended expression. "Coming, Rings?" 

The man had already stood up, not before leaning down to collect his fallen drumsticks, of course. Once he had placed them back he nodded. His heart stuttered in his chest when John addressed him in such a familiar manner. 

He made his way over to join the rest of them, falling into place between John and Paul, with George hanging beside Paul. Together they made their way to the restaurant, the four of them all bantering and pushing each other as they did so.  


All the way there, Ringo could feel himself slipping back into his fantasies about him and John, the familiar feeling of longing and pining returning to him once again.

  
____  
  


"Ringo, lad, are you alright?" Once again, the drummer had been knocked out of his thoughts. This time he had been prepared so he didn't drop anything(which was lucky, considering the fact he was cradling a cup of cold tea to his chest), but it still shocked him. 

This time it was Paul who spoke to him. Unlike George, he sounded much more concerned- but there was still a hint of frustration. Could you blame him, though?

"Huh?" Ringo grunted dumbly, placing his cup back down on the table as he did so. All three of the other Beatles groaned. He could feel the heat rush to his face. 

A large, but light, hand came to rest on his shoulder. Ringo didn't need to look over to know it was John's. His blush grew and darkened at the contact. 

"You've...well, been spaced out a lot lately, mate." John admitted as his face softened(it only stayed like that for a second, so Ringo wasn't sure if he had imagined it or not), hand moving up and down on Ringo's shoulders. They just tensed up more at that. 

"Yeah..." Paul gave a nod of his head,"is everything okay? We're all concerned, y'know."

Ringo's wonderfully blue eyes flickered to meet George's own brown ones. He just shrugged as though telling him he was on his own for this one. The drummer felt himself glare but quickly looked back at John, then at Paul. "I suppose I'm...stressed? We barely leave the studio anymore and I guess it's getting to me." 

There were a few moments of silence. Ringo held his breath, praying that they would believe him. Because no way in hell was he going to confess his undying love for John Lennon. How pathetic and whiny would he sound if he told them that the reason he had been so unfocused and out of it lately was because of how badly he pining after John?

"That's fair," Paul was the first to speak up. While he didn't sound too convinced, Ringo guessed that he had no choice but to believe him. "I guess we all are. We'll try an' pack up early tonight, okay?"

Ringo nodded and forced a bit of a smile. Part of it was genuine. "Cheers, lads."

"No problem!" John took his hand back, much to Ringo's disappointment, and gave an exaggerated thumbs up. "Happy to help, mate." With that, the three of them went back to doing whatever they were doing before they checked in with Ringo. 

Speaking of, Ringo had gone to pick up his cup, bringing it to his lips and sipping his stone-cold tea. He grimaced and placed it back on to the table, leaning his elbow on the table and turning his head so he could gaze out of the window. 

____

  
John and Paul broke their promise of finishing earlier. It was currently sometime around half eleven, almost midnight. It would be an understatement to say Ringo was frustrated. He wasn't usually one to get angry, but he was starving and exhausted and he hadn't even been doing anything for a long while. What made it even worse was the fact that the drummer hadn't been able to talk with John at all. It didn't matter about what, he just wanted to hear the man's voice.

A huff escaped Ringo from his seat on his stool. He watched as John mumbled something to Paul, feeling oddly jealous as they both shared jokes between each other. "Hey!" Ringo called out, taking all three of the other men by surprise. He could feel himself heat up for the third time that day. "Err, sorry. When are we going to play again?"

"We can now," Paul shrugged, stepping towards his microphone and tapping it a few times, brows furrowing when it didn't respond. John rolled his eyes. 

"You ready, Ringo?" John had turned back so he was facing Ringo. There was a slight smirk on his face when the other nodded dumbly. He whirled back around as soon as Paul strummed the first few chords of his bass. 

They all fell into an easy and comfortable rhythm, both John and Paul's voices sounding slurred and heavy with sleep as they sung. They weren't even a minute in to the song before John stopped, grinning widely. "Hold up, fellas! McCartney," he turned to address a confused Paul,"I just had a brilliant idea of how to make the song sound better."

That made Paul light up like a city at nighttime. He nodded with intrigue and he and John went back to the table in the corner, not even taking a seat as they began to scribble on a piece of paper. 

Ringo couldn't help but groan. He placed his drumsticks carefully on his drum and got to his feet, stumbling forwards as he did so. While stretching, George made his way over. "You good, mate?"

Grunting, Ringo gave a shrug of his shoulders. "Yeah. Jus' tired." To emphasise, he rubbed at his eyes and blinked in a lethargic manner. With a last glance over at John and Paul, he dragged himself towards the door. 

"Wait- where're you going?" Both of them were frowning. 

Ringo pointed to the left,"To sit down," he explained and left George with the other two in favour of going to lie down. 

Once finding the small living room in the studio's building, Ringo instantly lumbered over to the sofa at the back of the room. He fell back on it, sliding down a little as he stretched out. 

He eventually changed his position so he was comfortable: he was laid on his side with an arm draped over his chest and his other one hanging off the side of the sofa. Ringo closed his eyes and let his mind wander to thoughts of him and John(such as gathering up the courage to finally confess his feelings, finding out the other loved him back, sharing a kiss with him). Sure, Ringo knew these fantasies would never come true, but it didn't hurt to pretend. 

Seconds, minutes, hours passed(the drummer had drifted off whilst lost in his thoughts so he wasn't really sure what time it was) before everyone decided to pack up for the night...early morning. 

"Ringo? You in here, lad?" The sound of someone's voice was enough to wake Ringo from his light slumber. He grumbled and blinked his eyes open, glaring against the harsh light of the room. "We're done now." 

"M'kay..." Ringo's voice was heavy with fatigue and it was raspy. He coughed into his hand and pushed himself up into a sitting position, not bothering to place a hand over his mouth as he yawned. Eyes finally adjusting to the glaring of the light above, Ringo was able to see who had woken him up. His heart thudded at the sight of John. He felt like a fan girl at this point. "John?" 

He wasn't too sure why he asked, maybe out of shock. Ringo hadn't expected him to come along, wouldn't it make more sense for George to? Well, he wasn't complaining. "The one and only, Starr." John flashed that oh-so charming smile of his that drove the women(and Ringo)crazy. He sauntered over to the sofa and sat down beside Ringo with much more grace than the drummer. 

Ringo felt like he going to die. His poor heart convulsed in his chest, threatening to burst out at any moment. He took a deep and shaky breath to try and control the racing of his pulse and heart. 

A sudden surge of confidence took over him- Ringo wasn't sure where it came from or what caused it, maybe the fact he was so tired and so helplessly smitten for this man sitting beside him? Whatever was the cause, it made him fall limp against John's side and cuddle up to the taller man. 

There was a moment of no movement. It was as if the world had stopped completely. All Ringo could hear was his own heavy breathing and his heart going wild. John, on the other hand, was still and refused to make any sort of sound or movement. 

Shame, embarrassment and despair all flooded through Ringo at once, sinking his heart as they did so. "Sorry," Ringo half-heartedly muttered, starting to stand up. 

Before he could even take a step forward, John wrapped a hand around Ringo's wrist and pulled him back down so he fell awkwardly into his lap. 

Silence made the room uncomfortably hot. Ringo squirmed where he was on the other's thigh. They made eye contact which lasted much longer than either of them expected. Neither of them uttered a word, too scared they would lose this intimate moment. 

After what seemed like forever, Ringo moved so he was actually sat in the other's lap, shoulder pressed against John's much larger chest. Checking to make sure he was okay with it, the drummer then stretched his legs out so they were laid on the sofa. 

"Is this okay, lad?" Ringo was the first to break the silence, head tilted up at John from his hunched over position on his lap. 

That seemed to snap John back into the present. He blinked once, twice, then gave a small nod. John hesitantly wrapped his arms around Ringo's waist, pulling the older man even closer. 

Ringo cupped John's cheeks in his hands and pulled his face down so their noses touched. Their breaths mingled as the two of them looked into each other's eyes. 

Ringo suddenly surged forwards, pressing a quick peck to John's lips. The drummer's mouth felt dry and he tried to swallow down his fear. 

The other arm moved from around Ringo's waist, one still there, to cup his crimson cheek. 

His thumb stroked the other's lip, pressing down gingerly as they reached the centre. Ringo parted his lips eagerly but shut them again almost immediately at John's startled expression. 

Then, John pressed his hand harder against Ringo's cheek as he moved forwards, smashing their lips together. As a result of this, they banged noses. Ringo let out a small yelp but fell silent as soon as the other's thumb started to massage his jaw softly. 

After a bit of awkward mouth movements both of them pulled back to breathe. Wide, twinkling blue eyes locked with half-lidded and lustrous light brown eyes. 

It happened again. Except, Ringo was the one to move first. He cradled John's cheeks in his bejewelled hands and tilted his own head, lips pressing together. It took a few moments but John eventually relaxed and kissed Ringo back, rather eagerly. 

They both pulled away to breathe. Ringo was smiling stupidly while John was smiling affectionately at the drummer. Giggles erupted from the two boys and they pressed their foreheads together with huge grins. 

"I like you." Ringo suddenly blurted out, causing John to chuckle and press a kiss on his nose. The other flushed as John tightened his grip around his waist and pecked his cheek. 

"I got that, dear," He hummed in reply, watching as Ringo attempted to stifle a yawn,"I like you, too." John ran a hand through Ringo's hair gingerly, which was lulling him to sleep.

Drowsily, the drummer murmured,"Night, Johnny." He then let his head fall against said man's chest. 

John rested his chin on Ringo's head, both of his arms coming to wrap around the shorter's waist so he could pull him even closer(all while being careful not to wake him, of course). With that, he shut his eyes and allowed himself to fall asleep. 

  
  


____

"How long are they going to be there for?" George huffed slightly, cradling his guitar close, plucking at the strings every now and then. Paul only replied with a shrug of his shoulders, putting down his own guitar. 

"Let's go an' check." He suggested with a wave of his hand, beckoning the younger man forwards. George groaned about getting up but obliged, trudging behind Paul. 

Both of them made their way to the living room area, where John stated he was going to, and pushed the door open. "Boys, we're heading out now if you wa-" Paul cut himself off at what he saw: John and Ringo both fast asleep, entangled with each other. 

A grin cracked on George's face as he whispered,"Ringo, you absolute mad lad." He shook his head at Paul's frazzled expression and raised brow. "Let's leave 'em and go, yeah?" 

Paul finally smiled, nodding as he shut the door behind him, with care(as to not wake either of them). "Alright, Georgie," the two chuckled as they began to make their way out, leaving both Ringo and John to their own devices.

**Author's Note:**

> I am s o sorry for thi s


End file.
